The man who has ruled Kazakhstan for more than 20 years, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is standing for re-election – with a strong likelihood that he will win again.
Under constitutional changes made in 2007, Mr Nazarbayev is allowed to stand as many times as he wishes.
The main opposition parties say they were not given enough time to prepare for the presidential election.
They say the contest is unfair and have called for a boycott. This snap presidential election was called less than two months ago by Mr Nazarbayev.
Opposition parties say they were left no time to prepare for the race.
But critics say the opposition has proved its weakness in having no single strong candidate capable of challenging Mr Nazarbayev.
After more than 20 years in power, Mr Nazarbayev, 70, is running again beca…